Industry players join hands to launch packaging waste management venture, aim to mobilise Rs 1K cr

To address the growing concern of plastic waste in India, 32 companies including PepsiCo India, Coca-Cola India, Bisleri, Diageo and Reliance Industries have come together to launch a packaging waste management venture and aim to mobilise over Rs 1,000 crore for the purpose.

Developed and incubated by the Packaging Association for Clean Environment (PACE), as part of the venture, the participating companies will mobilise and converge assets, resources and investment upwards of Rs 1,000 crore, which will include the existing infrastructure of the member companies and fresh investments.

The vision of this venture is to ensure that no recyclable packaging material ends up in landfills by 2025.

The venture plans to have a network of 125 material recovery facilities across the country, which will work with 2,500 aggregators over the next 3 years," PACE President Vimal Kedia told reporters.

The project will be scaled up in phases, he added.

PepsiCo India President Ahmed ElSheikh, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia President T Krishnakumar and Bisleri CEO Angelo George launched the venture 'Karo Sambhav-closing material loops' to create an efficient value chain to collect post-consumer packaging and optimise material recycling processes.

Some of the other companies that have committed to joining hands for this venture include Diageo, Parle Agro, Cavin Kare, Manjushree, Reliance Industries, SC Johnson, IVL-Dhunseri, Pearl Drinks, Varun Beverages Limited and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd. Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons is also supporting the venture.

Pranshu Singhal, who is leading the set-up of this venture, said the focus of the venture will be on developing an India-wide ecosystem for plastic waste management by creating win-win partnerships with stakeholders, and applying technology to bring transparency, traceability and scale.